Lapping machine



. Sept. 11, 1923.

4 Witness.-

1,467,693 C. E. T. SCRIBNER LAPPING MACHINE Filed May 26, 1922 s Sheets-Sheet 1 b QM. a

Sept. 11, 1923.

C. E. T. S CRIBNER LAPPING MACHINE en/MM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 In van for: am Z 7 Main 635:

@AM fTMZ Sept. 11, 1923. 1,467,693

c. E. T. SCRIBNIER LAPPING MACHINE Worney Main 655:

Sept. 11, 1923. 1,467,693

C. E. T. SCRIBNER LAPPING MACHINE Filed May 26, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inventor.-

04725-60 rney lapping machines of the type embracing the To aZZ whom it mag concern: I

Patented Sept. 11, 1923.

cane-n sm e rarest errata.

or'rAnLEs E. 'r. sonrennn, or ivinnroan, iirnssaonosn'rrrs.

- rarrine MACHINE.

'Applioation filed May 26, 1922 Serial No. 564,000.

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. T. Sennamm, a citizen of the United States, residing;

at Medford, in the county of Middlesex,

State of lWlassachusetts,have invented a cer-. tain new and useful Improvement in Lap h ping Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention is an improvement upon well-known so-called camel-back lapper. The general object of the invention -is toprovide a lapping machine capable of scouring all the desirable results that are secured by the camel-back machine, but free from certain serious drawbacks and disadvantages of the latter. v 1

One of the drawbacks or disadvantages of the usual camel-back lapper is the height ofthe elevated portions of the run-out apron.

The height reached by the peak of the said apronordinarilyis seven or eight feet from the floor on which the machine stands, necessitating corresponding headroom.-

Another of 'th'e said drawbacks or disad vantages is the steep slant of inclination of the carrying-out portion of the said apron, namely the portion thereof extending; from the source of fiber-supplyto the elevated apex of the camel-back. The steepness increases materially as'the delivery'portion of" the said apron is traversed toward the source of supplyin laying the fleece or sliver upon the accumulating apron. It interferes with the upward feed of the leading endof the fleece, either in starting up orfollowing Such steepness of a parting of the fleece. slant or inclination of the carrying-out or ascending portion of the run-out apron produ'ces a tendency of the fleece resting there on, and moving upward therewith, to part and to roll or slide back upon itself toward the Garnett machine or other source of supply. This tendency makes continuous tron bl'e in handling inferior grades of stock. All palrtings or breakages necessitate piecings, which are undesirable. In practice, it is an aim of the manufacture'rto keep the fleece as smooth and uniform as possible,

' and hence piecing or joinings by" which the uniformity is affectedare objectionable. It may further" be stated that the lower the grade of the stock which isope'ra'ted upon,-

tlie greater' is the tendency to breakage.

Another of the said drawbacks or disad-- vantages of the usual camel back lapper is the necessary wide spacing of the accumulat ing apron, or other receiver upon which the lap is formed, from the Garnett machine or other machine supplying the fleece of fibrous material, and the consequent large amount of floor space occupied by the assembled machine. The accumulating apron of the said lapper is separated from the doffer of the Garnett machine by a distance considerably greater than the distance from the said doffer to a vertical line dropped from the apex of the camel-back in the position of the camel-back corresponding with the inner most osit-ion of the traversin carria e with which I I the delivery portion of the run-out apron is connected. The reason for this is that the said delivery portion and carriage cannot becaused to -pass in under the said peak, because the delivery portion musta't all times extend outward at a I proper inclination tosupport the portion of fleece extending downward from the apex of the camel-back to the carriage. As such lapper ordinarily is equipped, if the delivery portion should approach too closely to a vertical position, or should be swung inward under" the apex of the camel-back, the fleece would tear a art of its own wei ht. Hence P n a in ordinary practiceheretofore a considerable distance has intervened between the? pitcher inclination of the carrying-out portion of the said apron; and to enable the apron or other receiver upon which the lap is formed to be located closer to the 'Garnett machine than heretofore, so as to reduce ma: terially the amount of floor-space occupied by the assembled machines.

An illustrative embodin'i'ent of the features of the invention is shownin the accompanying drawings', in which latter,'

Fig. l showsa lapper containing the said embodiment, and a porti'on of a Garnettmachine serving to supply fibrous material in the form of a fleece to the run-out apron of the lapper'yth'e parts being shown mainly in side elevation but with the accumulating.

amount of floor-space by the assembled maor I receiving apron on which the lap is formed, and the lap thereon, shown :in vertical section. H In this view the carriage and the delivery-portion of the run-out apron are at the end of their traverse which is nearer the Garnett machine.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, butwith the carriage,etc., near the outer limit of the traverse.

Fig. '3 is a view on a larger scale than Figs; 1 nd 2, showing the right handpor tion of the lapper with the'partsin: the same positions as in Flg. 1.

"-asFigs. 3 and 4, showingtheleft hand whic are shown in Fig. 5 is a'partly sectional detail View; Fig. 6 is a view on the samelarge scale Fi 4 is a partial plan view of the parts portion of the lapper with the parts in the same positions as in Fig.2.

The relation between a lapper embodying present improvements and afG'arnettma- 'chme are indicated 1n Figs. 1 and 2, in wh ch the Garnett machine as an entirety is indicated at 1, 2 being its dofl'er cylinder,v and 3 being the doffer-blade or knife by which the fibrousmaterial isstripped from the doffer+ cylinder in the form of a fleece and delivered to the run-out apron4 of the lapping-ma chine.

At'the receiving end of the course. of" the v said'r'un-out apron 4, such apron is shown as 7 encircling a roll 5, (sheaves may be employ ed if preferred,)- located in this in-" stance in close proximity to the dofFer-cylin derand 'driven by means of a sprocket-chain -6 and sprocket-wheels 7 8, from Eashaft :9 actuated by means of a band (not shown) passing around a band-pulley'lO upon said. shaft. v The fleece stripped from thedofler-cylinder, 2 by the action of dofl'er-knife or comb? "is received upon the upwardly and outwardly r moving run of the run-out apron 4,,and is conveyed by the said apron to: the place: of discharge upon. the receiver. in this instance is an accumulating apron 16,

a The said accumulating apron 16 is shown as supported, as in practice heretofore, by

means of sheaves or pulleys 17, 17,1upon each of a series of shafts 18 mounted oil-bearings in connection with supports 19, 19. [The said shafts are rotated by means ofsuitable driving connections (not necessary'to be described) and the apron is thereby caused to travel transversely with relation to the G'ar-' 1 nett machine as usual.

ofthemach-ine, the carriage is traversed upon;

The receiver the rails 14 back and forth above the accumbfr. lating apron or receiver 16, to lay the fleece m thereon" in layers to' form a lap as 1/.

"- In this instancethe. fleece, after leaving the delivery portion of the" run-out apron,

passes as'usual between a pair of guide-rolls '15, 15, which are supported by the lower por- I tion of the' carriage 12. a

The action, so far as running out the'fieece asreceived from theQGarnett machine-or othersource ofs'upply, and depositing the fleece in'transverse folds upon the receiver as a result of the traversing-movement ofthe carriage toward and away from the Garnett mach1ne,1's substantially as'usual.

in this embodi of e invention traversing movements of the carriage '12 to ward and from the Garnett machine above the"accumulating, apron are produced by means of a chain 19 w1thwh1ch said'ca'rrlage 12 -is' connected,' and means whereby said chain is moved first in one direction and then in the other'direction." 1 The said chainyex tends around sprocket-wheels '20, 21:, at 0pposite ends of the track-rails 14, (wheel 21 being shown only in Figs 3 and 5) ,"theends of the chain beingengaged with projections 1 121,121, Figs; 3, 4 and: 5, r-ising from the carriage. I J. 1 The two'sprocket wheels 21are mounted on a transversefshaft which is in gear. connection with a reversibly-driven driving shaft 24 by means of a spur-gear-22, Figs. 3 and 4, fixed to the fifstimentioned' shaft anda driving pinion 23, Fig. 8, fixed upon the shaft 24. Shaft 24 is rotated first in one direction and then in-the other by means ofireversible drive'i'n connection with the said shaft. As shown, the reversible drive comprises a fast 'pulley 2-5, Fig.4, on the shaft 24, loose pulleys 26, 27 on the saidjshaft atopposite sidesof-fast pulley 25, shippers 28,29 for open and'crossed belts (not shown) and an actuator 30 for the said shippers arranged to rock ona vertical axis and having one arm thereof connecting operatively with arod 31 extending parallel with track-rail 14* The said rod is. mounted in suitable V guide-supports 32, 32, at. opposite ends of the :track-rail. It is moved endwise by the-can riage, as the latter nears the endof its traverse in either direction,,through the engagement of .an ear 33, projecting from the carriage, with a spring 34 in connection'with .a collarf35, fixed on the"rod As the carriage approaches either edge of the accumulating or receiving apron 16, in nearing one end of the traverse, the ear 'or pro ection 83, through engagement with the spring 34 at the corresponding end of thefrod 31, moves the rod endwise and 'eauses it to actuate, the rocker 30, a which in turn Qactuates' the shippers 28,

29, to transfer the open and cross belts aforesaid so asto bring about traverse of the vcarriage in the opposite direction. The shipof the operator, whenever such shifting is deemed to be necessary. To this end it is furnished atone end thereof with a handle 311 Figs. 1, 2 and 6.

I have shown shipper devices which areso constituted as to enable the operator to place the driving arrangements in neutral,

with the crossed and open belts both on the loose pulleys 26, 27, and with the lapping machine standing still. As shown, the shippers 28, 29, are separately sleeved on a long rectangular guide-bar 300 projecting outward from a fixed support. The hub or sleeve of each shipper has an upstanding web which is curved so that when a given shipper is in the extreme position which it occupies when its belt is in the corresponding loose pulley the curve of such web is concentric with the vertical axis around which the rocker 30 swings. The inner portion of the web is shaped to form a notch or recess and an engaging projection. The rocker 30 carries oppositely located pins which respectively are designed to cooperate with the curved and notched portions of the webs of the respective shippers. In either extreme position of the rocker one ,pin occupies the notch of one shipper, the

latter being thereby held in position to hold its belt on the fast pulley 25, while the other pin is alongside the curved portion of the web of the other shipper, the latter being in position to hold its belt on the corresponding loose pulley. If now the rocker is ac tuated', the pin first mentioned will act against one side of the notch which it occupies, to cause the corresponding shipper to move its belt over upon a loose pulley. Meanwhile the other shipper will remain at rest as the second pin moves along the curved web of such shipper, until such pin encounters the stop projection at the opposite side of the notch of such web, whereupon through pressure against such stop projection the rocker pin will actuate the second shipper to move its belt from the corresponding loose pulley to the fast pulley. thereby reverslng the traverse of the carriage. From the preceding descriptionv it will. be apparent that by moving the rocker far enough to shift one shipper from the intermediately located fast pulley to one loose pulley and then discontinuing the movement of the rocker before it has begun to move the other shipper the traverse may be arrested.

It is to be understood that the description thus far is chiefly introductory, andthat the parts, etc., which have been referred to therein may in general be modified more or less invpractice.

Reference will now be made to the main feature of my invention; namely, a take-up roll for the run-out apron, moving to take up slack of the apron as well as to pay out the latter. located normally adjacent the middle of the traverse, around andunder which the run-out apron doubles back upon itself in the traversing movement toward the receiving portion of the apron. The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises guide and tension roll a, which in. practice is constituted of a. set of sheaves located at convenient distances apart upon a supporting shaft. To provide for movement of the said roll or, set of sheaves in the same general direction as the traverse. which is horizontal or substantially so, such roll or set of sheaves. is revolubly mounted on arms Z) mounted pivotally as at 0 on opposite stands (Z rising from and fixed to the rail 14 and a companion rail ltl located above rail 14:. Also an overbalancing weight 6 is mounted upon an arm 7 projecting from the pivot or journal of each arm 5. The intermediate portion of the return run of the run-out belt 4 passes over and around the said roll or set of sheaves a. The intermediate portion of the advancing or carrying-run of the said apron also passes over and partly around the roll or set of sheaves a, but is held out of contact with the return run by means of a set of separating rolls or sheaves g interposed between the said two runs. Thereby the two runs of apron 4 are held out of frictional engagement with each other, and the movement of the two runs in opposite directions 'with respect to each other is facilitated.

The rolls 9, g, are kept spaced apart at proper distances from one another by means of spacing links h, h, located at opposite ide edges of the apron 4 and in pivotal engagement with the ends of rolls 9, 9. They are kept in proper working relation with respect to roll or sheaves a by having the endli nk engaged with the adjacent radiusarm 70, to which reference is made later herein. 1

The action of the weight 6, which latter may be replaced by a spring or springs. is to cause the roll or sheaves a to keep the run-out apron 4: constantly taut. As the carriage 12 travels from its position in Figs. 1 and 3 adjacent the Garnett mm chine tow ard the opposite end of its traverse the roll or sheavesa is actuated. to travel in an approximately horizontal curved path in the inwardly traveling movement of the car-Q or substituted spring or springs.

thesame general direction, so as to take up the amount of the runout apron that 'is yielded up by the movement of the carriage from its position in. Figs. 1 and 3 to its intermediate position shown in Figs. 2 and 6. As the carriage proceeds from the said intermediateposition shown in Figs 2 and 6 to the outer end of its traverse the roll or: sheaves a will yield downward to pay 501a the run-out apron sufficiently to faccommodate such'portion of the traverse." Asthe carriage moves reversely from the outer end of the traverse, the weight c, it b'emg at such time in a more or less raised position at the right of the pivot 0, will actuate the roll or sheaves an to take up the slack of runout apron yielded up by the first portion of riage. As the carriage in its inward trav'e'rs ing movement passes the position occupied in Figs. 2 and 6, the tightening of the run-out apron 4 around the roll or sheaves a will draw the latter in the same general direction against the resistance of'the weight 6, I The ire" sult will bethat the run-out apron will be maintainedat all times in a state of uniform tension by means of the-roll or sheaves a,]

which will alternately take up and pay out the run-out apron asthe carriage moves from one endof its traverse to the other, and vice versa. It will be observed'that the pivotal mounting of the movable sup-port for the roll or sheaves a is intermediate the opposite extreme of the traverse movements:

of the carriage, and'that the roll or sheaves will move from one side to the other of said pivotal mounting, and vice versa. in. unison with the movements of the carriage. One

effect of weight '6 is to cause the carriage to reverse at either end of its traverse quickly and readily.

The positions of the roll or sheaves a are at all times much lower than the height" of the apex of an ordinary camel-back, As

a result of the location of the guide or take up roll or sheaves a intermediately with relation to the opposite extremes of the traverse, the ingoing movement of the car-. riage takes the carriage, as in Figs. 1 and 3, directly under the portions of run-out apron 4 that extend between the Garnett greater part of the movements of the carriage it is necessary to provide a surface in connection with the descendmg run of apron 4 to support and control the fleece ntermediate the roll or sheaves a and the car- "'riage and preferably assist in the feeding, thereof. In present instance I have pro-f vided an auxiliary apron 70, located close to and in addition asupporting' roll [for the lower portion of said apron. The roll it is mounted in bearings in connection with the" and parallel with the said descending run,

upper. portion of said apron adjacent the roll or sheavesa, and a guideroll h for the carriage 12. The upper roll Z is mounted in bearings in connection with, the upper ends of side bans 7IJ'Wll1Cll' at their lower ends are hung in connection withthe carriage 12 so as to swing concentrically with the said lower roll h; The said bearings of the upper roll Z are provided in supporting pieces 0 that are adjustable longitudinally on the side bars a to s'uit the length of the auxiliary apronia. j I The apron'ls isimaintained with one sur' face thereof in working relations with the descending portion of the c'arryingsrun of the run-out apron .4 by means of radius arms which are hung concentrically with the roll or sheaves a and formed with. elongated guides Q through which extend rods 1' held at their upper "and lower ends by brackets s, s, that are attached to side bars a. 1 The said surface of apron k holds the fleece close to and in c'ontactwith the de-. scending run of the apron 4, keepingit in engagement with such run, preventing it from falling away therefrom and from slipping down, and safeguarding the fleece from breaking apart.

As the carriage 12 traverses from its posi tion in Figs. 1 and 3 to its position in Figs.

2 and 6, and onto the opposite extreme of the traverse, and back again, the rods 1' slide enclwisewitliin the guides Q as the auxiliary apron shifts lengthwise relativeto carrying-out run the adjacent portion of the of the run-out apron 4. I

Having reference to Figs. 2 and 6, it Wlll be understod that as the carriage 12 moves toward the right from itsposition in such figures the pull of the apron 4 will be exerted for a part otthe time upon the roll' or sheaves a in aline passing through or nearv That is to say: the

the pivoted center 0. said pull for a part of the time will be exerted on or approximately on dead center; 1

hence, lagging or dwelling of the roll or sheavesja in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 6 might continue for a part of the movement of the carriage to the right from its position in Figs. ,2 and 6. In order to 'obvip ate such dwell, I provide a helper in the shape of a collar t that is fixed on bar r by means of a clamping screw u, and that is designed toact against the lower end of a guide 9 in theendwise movement of bar 1' j upward through the said guide. Seel igs. .2 and. 6. Thereby, the swinging supports for the roll or sheaves a are moved upward around the pivotal center 0 so as to carry the axis of the roll or sheaves a past the dead center.

A further improvement consists in making the rails 14 and 141 of U-shape in crosssection. vSee Figs. 3 and 5.. Theopensides of these rails are turned downward. That is to say, the rails occupy in the machine the inverted positions shown in Figs. 3 and 5, one above the other. The upper and lower runs of the chain 19 are extended lengthwise under the U-shaped rails, within the latter, and are thereby concealed and protected from injury and from accumulation of lint, etc.

The trucks 13,13, of the traverse carriage. 12, as shown best: in Fig. 5, rest and run upon the top of the lower rail;14;. The lugs or projections 1'21, 121, with which the ends of? chain 19 are engaged project upward from the carriage into the hollow of the 7 upper ra-il 141. The'edgesof the upper rail are vertically OVBI'CllLlbS upon opposite sides of'the trucks:13, 18, so asrto prevent'the carriage from'lifting; v To afford clearance for the lug 33-projecting outward from the carriage 12 for engagement withthe buffersprings 34:, 34, to actuate the rod 81 of the shipper mechanism, the foot portion of the standard d is formedfwith an outwardly curved portion d, Fig; 5., having at its-inner side a transverse recesstliroughwhich the said lug is capable ofpassing as the carriage traverses back and forth.

What is claimed as theinvention is 1'. The combination with a receiver upon which alap of fibrous material is'formed of successive folds of fleece or sliver laid thereon, a run-outrapron for said fleece or sliver located above said receiver and having a receiving portion thereof extended toward a source of" supply at one side'of' the receiver, and means fortraversing' the delivery portion of therun-out' apron back and forth above the receiver, of; a take-up roll for the run-out apron, moving to take up slack oftheapron as well as topay out the latter, located normally adjacent themiddle of the traverse',.around. and under which therun-out aprondoubles back upon'itself int-he traversing movement toward the said receiving portion.

2. The combination with a receiver-upon which a lap of fibrous material is formed of successive folds of fleece or sliverlaid thereon, a runeout' apronlfor said fleece or sliver located'ab'ove said receiver-and having a receivlngportion thereof extended toward a sourceof'supply at oneiside of: the recelver,

and means for traversingthe'delivery portion of the run=out" apron back and forth above the receiver, of a guide: on'take-up.

roll for the run-out'apron, movable in. the

same general. direotionr'as the traverse, to:

take up slack and to pay out, located adjacent the middle of the traverse and around and under which the run-out apron doubles back upon itself in the traversing movement toward the said receiving portion.

3. The combination with a receiver upon which a lap of'fibrous material is formed of successive folds of fleece or sliver laid thereon, a run-out apron for said fleece or sliver locatedabove said receiver and having a receiving portion thereof extended toward a source of supply atone side of the receiver, and means for traversing the delivery portion of the run-out apron back and forth above the receiver, of a guide or takeup roll for the run-out apron, means for guiding said roll in a curvilinear path in the same general direct-ion as the" traverse, located adjacent the middle of the traverse and around and under which the run-out apron doubles back upon itself in the traversing movement toward the said receiving portion.

4. The combination with a receiver upon which a lap of fibrous material isformed of successive folds of fleece or sliver,'laid thereon, a run-out apron for said fleece or sliver located above. saidreceiver and having a receiving portion. thereof extended toward a sourceof supply at one side of the receiver, and means for traversing theguide or take-up-roll for the run-out apron,

located normally adjacent the middle of the traverse, and around and under which the run-out apron doubles back upon itself in the traversing movement toward the source of supply, and an auxiliary apron paralleling thedelivery portion of said run-out apron from a point adjacent the said guide or take-up roll, and adapted to confine and support the-fleece or sliver while said delivery portion is doubledback under.

6. The combination wit-h a reciprocating carriage, guides on which the carriage travels in its reciprocating-movement, and a run-out apron having 1ts delivery portion engaged with. said carriage, of a; take-up rollfor the intermediate portion of said apron, moving horizontally/or substantially so to takesup slack ofthe: apron" as well asto pay; out the latter" as the carriage travels back and forth, and'normally lo- --cated adjacent the middle of the traverse.

7. The combination with a reciprocating carriage, guides along which the carriagetravels in its reciprocating movement, and

a run-out apron having its delivery portion engaged with the carriage, of 'a take-up roll for *the intermediate portion 7 of v the such ap-ron"or pay out the apron as the carriage reciprocates.

apron, and a movable support providing for horizontal or substantially horizontal moveinentof said roll to take up slack in 8. The combination'with a reciprocating carriage, guides along"which the carriage travels in its reciprocating movement, and a run-out apron havlngats delivery por-' roll for the intermediate portion of the,

apron, a support for said roll providing for horizontal or'substantially horizontal movement of said roll to-take, up slack in the apron or pay out the apron as the carriage reciprocates, an auxiliary apron, and sup porting "means; therefor keeping it parallel with the delivery portion of the run-out apron, connected with the carriage and also with the movable take-up'roll support.

10. The combination with a'reciprocating 1 carriage, and a run-out apron having its delivery portion engaged with the carriage,

' of a. take-uproll around which the intermediate portion of the apron changes direction, swinging supports for said roll, 'niovable'to cause the latter to take up or pay out slack by movement in a horizontal or substantially horizontal direction, an

auxiliary apron,- and supporting means therefor keeping it close to the delivery portion of the run-out apron, connected with the carriage and also with the swinging take-up roll supports. I '11. The combination with a reciprocat-v ing carriage anda run-out apron having its delivery portion engaged with the carriage, of a take-up roll around which the intermediate portion of theapron changes direction, a roll-support movable to cause the take-up rollto take up slack or pay out apron by movement in a horizontal or substantially-liorizontal direction,'an auxiliary apron, supporting means therefor keeplng it close to 'the delivery portion'of the run-' .out apron and connected with the carriage,

and a radius arm connected with the axis of the take-up 1 51i and withwhich the said supporting-means is movably engaged.

12. The combination with a. reciprocating I carriage, and a run-out apron having its de-z livery portion engaged with the carriage, of a take-up roll around which the intermediate portion of the apron changes direc- ,"tion, a swinging roll-support'movable-to cause the take-up roll to take up slack or pay out apron by movement! of the roll in a horizontal or substantiallyhorizontal direction, an auxiliaryapron, supporting means therefor connected with'jthe carriage, and a radius arm connected'with. the axis of the take-up roll and with which the said supporting means is engaged with adaptability for-relative sliding lengthwise of the auxiliary apron.

13. The combination with a reciprocating carriage, andarunput apron having its delivery portion engagedwithithe carriage, of a take-up roll aroundwhich the intermediate portion of the apron changes direction, a roll-supportcmovable 'to cause the take-up roll to take up slack or pay out apron by movement of the roll in a -horizontal or substantially horizontal-direction, an auxiliary apron, supporting means therefor for such supporting means connected with thesaid roll-support.

14. The combination with a reciprocating carriage, and a run-out apron having its delivery portion engaged with the carriage, of a take-up roll around which. the intermediate portion of the apron changes direction,

connected with the carriage, and a guide.

a'swinging roll-support movable to cause the take-up roll to take'up slack or pay out apron by movement in. a horizontal or substantially horizontal direction, an auxiliary apron, supporting means therefor connected with the carriage, a guide. for such supporting means connected withthe said swinging roll-support, and means connected with such supporting means: for helping the roll-support and roll around dead center.

15. The combination with a: reciprocating carriage, and a run-out apron having its delivery portion engaged with the carriage,:

of a take-up roll around which the intermediate portion of the apronchanges ,direc-" tion, a swinging rollsupport movable to cause the takeup roll to take up slack or pay out apron by movement in a horizontal or substantially horizontal I direction, an auxiliary apron, supporting means therefor connected with the carriage, a guide for such supporting means connected withthe 'said roll-support, and means connected with the said supporting means adapted to engage the said guide toactuate. the swinging roll-support soas to help it .anolthetake-up roll around dead center. Y

16. In a lapper, the. combinationywiththe reciprocating fleece-laying carriage, and

its actuating chain, of guide-rails of U- shape in cross-section, having their open sides facing downward, and within which the two runs of said chains are enclosed, hidden, and shielded.

17. In a lapper, the combination with the reciprocating fleece-laying carriage having trucks or rolls provided with projecting hubs, and its actuating chain, of upper and lower guide-rails of U-shape in cross-section having their open sides facing downward, and Within which the two runs of said chains are enclosed, hidden, and shielded, the curved top of the lower rail constituting a track for the trucks or rolls of thecarriage, and the edges of the upper rail cooperating with the said projecting hubs to prevent the trucks or rolls from rising from said track.

18. The combination with a reciprocating carriage, and a run-out apron having its delivery portion engaged with said carriage, of a take-up roll for the intermediate portion of said apron with which the returnrun of the apron engages, a movable support for said roll, a series of sheaves loosely working between the two runs of the apron around the said roll, and means for keeping said sheaves properly spaced apart. 1

19. The combination with a run-out apron for fleece or sliver, and means for traversing the delivery portion of said apron back and forth, of a guide and take-up roll forvthe intermediate portion of the apron, movable in the same general direction as the traverse, and means paralleling the delivery portion of the run-out apron from a point adjacent the said roll and serving to confine and support the fleece or sliver while said delivery portion is doubled back under.

20. The combination with a run-out apron for fleece or sliver, and a reciprocating carriage with which the delivery portion of said apron is connected, of a take-up roll for the intermediate portion of said apron, moving horizontally or substantially so to take up slack of the apron as well as to pay out the latter as the carriage'travels back and forth, a radius-arm extending from the axis of said roll, and means, connecting with the carriage and with, said radius-arm, paralleling the delivery portion of the apron and operating to confine, guide and support the fleece ors'liver while said delivery portion is doubled back under.

21. The combination with a receiver upon which a lap of fibrous material is formed of successive folds of fleece or sliver laid thereon, a run-out apron for said fleece'or sliver located above said receiver and having a receiving portion thereof extended toward a source of supply at one side of the receiver, and means for traversing the delivery portion of the run-out apron back and forth above the receiver, of take-up means for the run-out apron, moving to take up slack of the said apron as well as to pay out the latter, located normally adjacent the middle of the traverse, around and under which the run-out apron doubles back upon itself in the traversing movement toward the said receiving portion, and retaining means having a surface paralleling the delivery portion of the run-out apron and adapted to confine and support the fleece or sliver while said delivery portion is doubled back under.

22. The combination with a receiver upon which a lap of fibrous material is formed of successive folds of fleece or sliver located above said receiver and having a receiving portion thereof extended toward a source of supply at one side of the receiver, and means for traversing the delivery portion of the run-out apron back and forth above the receiver, a take-up means for the run-out apron, movable in the general direction of the traverse, moving to take up slack of the said apron as well as pay out the latter, located normally adjacent the middle of the traverse, around and under which the run-out apron doubles back upon itself in the traversing movement toward the said receiving portion, and retaining means having a surface paralleling the delivery portion of the run-out apron and adapted to confine and support the fleece or sliver while said delivering portion is doubled back under.

23. The combination 'with a run-out apron for fleece or sliver, and means for traversing the delivery portion of the run-out apron back and forth, of a horizontally movable guide or take-up roll for the-run-out apron, located normally adjacent the middle of the traverse, and around and under which the run-out apron doubles back upon itself in the traversing movement toward the source of supply, and retaining means having a surface paralleling the delivery portion of the run-out apron and adapted to confine and support the fleece or sliver while said delivery portion is doubled back under.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES E. T. SCRIBNER.

Witnesses:

CHAS. F RANDALL, ELLEN 0. SPRING. 

